Politico Claims Dems Think Bernie Can ‘Win the Nomination’ Even Though Zero of Them Said That
Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images
A new article from Politico claims that Democratic insiders are saying that Independent Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders “could win the nomination” even though none of the Democrats quoted said that.
On Thursday, Politico published an article entitled “Democratic insiders: Bernie could win the nomination” that quoted a number of prominent figures urging that Sanders’ candidacy be taken seriously, but none of them came close to predicting a Sanders victory in the primary.
For example, Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, said “I believe people should take him very seriously,” noted Sanders’ polling strength in early states like Iowa, Vermont, and Nevada, and said that Sanders “could build a real head of steam heading into South Carolina and Super Tuesday.”
The bulk of the article consists of observations about Sanders’ consistency and resiliency, noting his return to a strong second place following a surge by Senator Elizabeth Warren and a heart attack in October. But there was also a lot of virtual ink dedicated to the proposition that Sanders has not had to weather political attacks that will surely come, and the only quote to address the final result of the contest was Third Way co-founder Matt Bennet’s declaration that “He can’t win the nomination.”
The politics of the Sanders candidacy are well-represented in the piece. There are those who say Bernie has a “ceiling,” that he can’t grow his support beyond the loyal supporters who form a significant chunk of Democratic voters, but not enough to win a majority. Sanders’ highest national average this campaign was 24 percent, and he sits five points below that now.
There’s the wrinkle that Sanders could join forces with Warren to achieve a majority of delegates. The two runners-up currently combine for about 34 percent in RCP’s polling average to Biden’s 28, but that assumes that the field stays this large, that nobody else has delegates to throw Biden’s way, and that Warren would agree to such a scheme.
And there’s the possibility that Sanders picks up enough momentum to quash fears about his electability. The quotes in the Politico article amount to a recognition that this could make Sanders competitive deep into the primaries.
None of this is really news, it’s a state of play that has existed for quite a long time. But Democratic insiders actually saying Sanders could win makes a pretty decent headline the day after Christmas, when everyone is desperate for content. It might even spawn a cable news segment or two from cable news networks thirsty for something to fill the airtime. And the fact that none of these insiders actually said it makes a good headline for websites seeking only to inform the public, regardless of thirst.
The truth is that Bernie Sanders has not been taken seriously enough in the political coverage of the Democratic primary race. That has worked somewhat to his advantage, as Politico notes, because he has escaped the kind of scrutiny that might negatively impact him. Elizabeth Warren sank in the polls after she was pressured into releasing plans to finance Medicare for All that included not even voting on Medicare for All until the end of her first term.
But Sanders has yet to release such a plan, and the worst he has suffered from it is to have one of his rivals, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, laud him for being “honest” about raising taxes. And while Biden has had to contend, from day one, with attacks dating back as far as his days as a teenage lifeguard in Delaware, the Sanders files have barely been cracked open.
On the other hand, the consistent dismissal of Sanders’ candidacy as almost a novelty act could have the effect of deterring undecided voters from considering him. Maybe some Christmas-week articles and cable news hits can speak that electability into existence.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
